Trapped
by Just Another Fanatic
Summary: Addy and Izzy Stoll are thrilled that they are getting the chance to attend Camp Half-Blood, where their parents met. However, it doesn't turn out as perfect as they hoped. With crushes, capture the flag, and hateful counselors and campers, they just hope they survive the summer. Sequel to The Demigod Trap.
1. Prologue

**Here's the prologue of the sequel to the Demigod Trap. I would suggest that you read that before reading this, as there are bits that may not make sense if you haven't read that. Anyway, hope you enjoy. And feel free to review.**

* * *

Prologue

"You should see what they can do, Chiron," Connor said to his old mentor, trainer... the immortal centaur that now ran a summer camp. "Izzy is nearly as fast as Travis... faster than I am. And Addy, anyone would guess that she was the daughter of Demeter, not the granddaughter."

"I understand that they are extraordinary, but this is a camp for demigods," Chiron said. "Half-bloods. Not the children of the half-bloods."

"But mathematically, they are half-bloods," Connor said. "Not half Hermes, or half Demeter, but when all is said and done, half of their blood is human, and half is god."

Chiron sighed. In all his years, it was rare that Half-bloods had children with other Half-bloods. However, over in the Roman camp, they had a whole community, and all mortal descendants of the gods were allowed, not just their direct children. And the girls were, as Connor had pointed out, empowered.

"No promises," Chiron said, pointing a finger at the younger of the Stoll siblings... the original Stoll siblings that is. "We don't even know if they will be able to pass through the camp borders without permission. If they can, then we will reevaluate."

Connor smiled brightly. "You won't be sorry," he said. "I promise, this isn't a mistake."

* * *

"Wake up, wake up, wake up!"

Travis groaned and rolled over, to the empty side of his and Katie's bed. He wasn't an early riser even though he knew Katie had been up for at least two hours.

"Dad!"

"Five more minutes, Addy," Travis groaned.

"You said that already," Addy complained, hands on her hips. "Half an hour ago. If you don't get up, we are seriously going to leave without you. The car is packed and Henri is minutes away from crying."

Travis lifted his head and looked at the clock. It read 9:32. Thirty-two minutes after their intended leaving time. Connor had convinced Chiron to allow the girls to attend Camp Half-Blood, so long as they could pass through the border. Katie and Travis were driving them... so it would either be a family road trip to New York and back, or a romantic road trip for the newly remarried couple up in the North Eastern coast of the country.

"I'm moving," he said standing up and stretching.

"Hurry up," Addy said. "Papa is making eggs for you, because you missed the first round of eggs... and the second." With that, Addison Lily Stoll left the room, closing the door behind her.

Arriving at the dining room, where her mother and sister were, she took a seat. "He's moving," she announced.

"Finally," Isabelle Sofia Stoll said with a smile. She smiled a lot, lately. When she saw her father, when she remembered that her last name now matched her sister's last name, whenever she saw her sister. Somehow, Addy had come to her school and taken it by storm. Everyone had known Izzy since they were young, but Addy was a totally new sensation to them all, and was now one of the most popular girls, which in turn made Izzy a lot more popular by association, though she still had the same friends... mostly.

Because Katie had an established business in Orlando and Travis traveled a lot for his job so he could be employed from anywhere in the country, the Stolls had moved to Florida. The large plot in Oregon still belonged to Travis, technically, but was being rented out. Jessie loved her new home and the dog park that Addy took her to every other day, and the horses had settled nicely into their new home at the local stables, though it was now more than a walk across the field away.

It was also possible to tell the two apart. Izzy had stripped the green from her bangs, and since had been working on growing her hair back out, while Addy had cut her hair even shorter, just below chin length. While Izzy's hair was cut evenly and straight, Addy's hair was heavily layered. With their pierced ears, Izzy stuck mostly to simple studs, while Addy was more likely to wear something a little more showy. Their clothing style was still also a big give-away.

"You both have everything you need?" Henri asked, indeed very close to tears. "Pictures of everyone, emergency cards, food for the car?"

"We're packed and repacked and packed again," Addy said. "Anymore packing and we might as well just move the house."

"I am going to miss you all so much," Henri cried out and hugged the two thirteen-year-olds tightly.

"And, eggs are served," Papa said, coming out of the kitchen with yet another bowl of eggs. "And the guest of the hour has arrived."

"Sorry about that," Travis said, taking a seat. He scooped a good helping of eggs onto his plate, and began eating, along with drinking a cup of coffee.

"You certainly took your time," Katie said. "Do you even remember me waking you an hour ago?"

Travis shook his head, but smiled nonetheless, mouth closed as it was stuffed with eggs. Katie smiled at how adorable he looked, even though he was in his early thirties. She kissed the top of his head as she walked past him to the kitchen.

Finally after Travis had eaten and the dishes were all washed, the girls all hugged Papa and Henri (Travis shook their hands), and they set off toward New York and Camp Half-Blood.


	2. Chapter 1

**If you haven't read the Demigod Trap, you might want to. **

* * *

Chapter 1

Addy and Izzy looked at one another, holding hands. Their parents stood right behind them. They were at the border of Camp Half-Blood. On the other side stood Chiron, in all his Centaur glory, along with one red-haired woman. Past them, spying from down the hill or from behind trees were kids, Satyrs, Nymphs, all eager to see what was happening.

"One step forward and we can spend our summers here," Izzy said to Addy.

"Or we smack into an invisible barrier, spend a week with Uncle Connor in the city, and then suffer another two day car ride home," Addy replied.

Izzy chuckled and then the two both lifted their right foot and stepped onto the camp grounds, past the barrier that kept mortals out. They both smiled and jumped. "We did it! We're demigods."

Katie and Travis smiled at one another and followed as well, Travis carrying Addy's duffle and Izzy's suitcase.

"Now, comes the more difficult question," Chiron said. "Where to place them."

"What do you mean?" Travis asked. "They'll go into the Hermes cabin."

"Uh, excuse me?" Katie asked. "I don't think that'll be a very good influence on them. They should go to Cabin Four."

"If anything they'll be the bad influence on my little siblings," Travis said. "Or has a certain situation from the end of last summer slipped your memory?"

"So they switched places," Katie said. "I don't want them to start stealing."

Izzy and Addy glanced at one another as their parents were going back and forth about where the two should stay while at camp.

"I'm going to start exploring," Addy said.

"Count me in," Izzy said. As they turned and began down the hill, Izzy noticed the red-headed girl smile and wink at them. The kids at the bottom of the hill scattered as the two started down, apparently not supposed to be there.

"You two are the talk of the camp," a voice said behind the two as they were examining the outside of the cabins. They turned to see a blonde boy, a year or two older than them. He had shining blue eyes, and tanned skin and was very cute.

Izzy and Addy looked at one another for a moment, smiles breaking onto their faces. "And why is that?" Addy asked.

"Well, no one can seem to understand what makes you two so special," the boy said. "I mean, you seem like normal girls to me... well, normal Half-Bloods, obviously. So, who's your parent?"

"Our parent?" Addy asked.

"As in one?" Izzy questioned.

"Your godly parent?" the boy asked. He motioned to the quiver slung over his back with a bow sticking out of it. "Like, my father's Apollo."

"Oh, well, my dad is Travis Stoll," Addy said. "And my mom is Katie Gardner." The boy cocked his head, confused.

"We're not exactly your normal demigods," Izzy said. "Our parents were both Half-Bloods. We kind of are the granddaughters of Hermes and Demeter."

The boy looked taken aback. "I didn't know that it worked that way as well."

"I don't think anyone did," Izzy said. "Probably why we're the talk of the camp." She smiled and held out a hand. "I'm Izzy and this is Addy."

The boy smiled. "Sonny," he said. "And don't laugh."

However, it was too late, as Addy couldn't help but chuckle at the name.

"Don't mind her," Izzy said. "She was raised by two sons of Hermes." She elbowed Addy a bit as Addy was still laughing.

"There you two are," Katie said, finding the two girls as they were sitting of the front stoop of the Apollo cabin with Sonny. "We have been so worried about you two."

Travis eyed the blonde boy. "And you are?"

"That's Sonny Staccato," Chiron said. "He's the head of the Apollo cabin, and a successful quest leader."

"So, have we come to a decision about which cabin we'll be in yet?" Addy asked, a little smugly.

"As a matter of fact, yes," Travis said. He dropped the duffle at her feet. "Follow your mother to Cabin Four, if you will. Izzy, I'll show you your cabin."

"Wait, what?" Izzy questioned. "You mean, we're going to be split up?"

"Well, as Addy draws her powers from my line," Katie said, "It makes sense that she should be with the children of Demeter. And same as you and your father, Izzy."

"This is a unique situation," Chiron said. "And, things can always be changed if the need comes."

Addy picked up her duffle and followed Katie to the Demeter cabin, throwing a quick wave in Sonny's direction to show that she still knew he was there. Izzy followed Travis to the Hermes cabin with a quick, "See you later, Sonny."

"It smells like your shop in here." It was the first thing Addy observed of the inside of the cabin. She had already expressed several ideas of the outside. Looking around the inside, however, she was just as shocked. Nearly every flat surface aside from beds and the floor was covered in potted plants, mostly various flowers. Addy could name most of them now, after helping her mother in the green houses that she used for her shop, but still wasn't thrilled to be surrounded by them twenty-four seven.

All the beds had either green or pink, or a combination of green and pink, themes to the blankets and pillows. They all mostly had floral patterns as well. However, what may have been most horrifying of all was that it was all clean. There were no shoes scattered on the floor, no dirty clothes over-flowing hampers, no nothing out of place.

"Where's my bed?" Addy asked.

"You get to choose," Katie said. She walked along the rows and sat on one of the beds that had plain sheets, indicating that it didn't belong to anyone one person. "This one was mine, if you'd like to follow more in my footsteps."

Addy took a deep breath and nodded. She opened her duffle and pulled out the sheets she had brought. They were electric blue and yellow striped. After hastily putting those on, she put the quilt cover on, ignoring as Katie tidied up Addy's sloppy job. As Addy stuffed the rest of her clothes into the dresser next to her bed, Katie straightened out the shoes Addy was dropping on the ground.

Just as they were finished with that, there was a knock at the door and the red-haired woman from before walked in. "Wow, Katie, your daughters really look so much like you... just with bluer eyes." In her arms she held five orange shirts. "I guessed that she was about a juniors small."

Katie smiled. "Thanks, Rachel." She turned to Addy. "This is Rachel Elizabeth Dare, also the Oracle of Delphi."

"The lady that spews prophecies in green smoke?" Addy asked as Rachel handed her the shirts.

"I'll take it that you were raised by Travis and Conner then," Rachel said. Addy took one of the shirts off the pile and stuffed the other four into her dresser. She then pulled off the red shirt she had been wearing, her back to the two women, and pulled on the orange Camp Half-Blood shirt.

"How do I look?" Addy asked.

"Like a demigod," Rachel said with a smile. "The other Demeter girls are about to groom and fly the Pegasi, if you'd like to join them. I can take you there."

"Pegasi?" Addy asked. "As in horses with wings? Totally!"

"Addy has a horse of her own," Katie said to Rachel. "Granted, one without wings."

Izzy stood in the doorway of Cabin Eleven horrified. The thing was worse that Addy's room...

She glanced at her father, who was smirking in amusement. Clearly, he'd never had a problem with Addy's messy habits, as she had seen how he allowed her to keep it when the two had switched places. Now, Addy had to tidy it up once a week or Katie was likely to throw anything on the floor into the trash or donate it to charity. But this... was that a slice of pizza on someone's pillow?

"So, pick a bunk, any bunk," Travis said.

"Are there any open?" Izzy asked looking around.

"I think that one is," Travis said pointing to a top bunk in the middle of the room. He stepped up and noticed that it was indeed without an occupant. It was also without a quilt or pillows. "We'll just snag a few things from these other beds..." He found a bed with four pillows and a quilt that was used to hide the corner lower bunk from the rest of the place. "There."

As there were no open drawers in any of the dressers, Izzy just propped her suitcase in the window that was at her head and pulled out the picture of her family, putting that on her pillow, now covered with her pillowcase. She felt a little odd as she had the only bed that was made, and the only one with pink sheets with daisies. Before she knew it, there was a knock at the door and Chiron strode in. He had five orange shirts.

"Oh, are those my camp shirts?" she asked, excited again.

"Of course," Chiron said, crouching to avoid low hanging items from the ceiling. He kept stepping on random items, shaking his head as he managed his way to Izzy's bunk where he handed her the shirts. She was off the bed and in the bathroom in a matter of seconds, before yelling and coming back out.

"I am so not using that bathroom until someone cleans it," she said sternly. She pulled the shirt on over the shirt she had been wearing, and through some struggle, managed to pull the other one off without flashing her father or Chiron.

"Yes, I suppose that I might have to insist on this cabin working to clean a little," Chiron said, looking around the place.

"Hey, give this one some rubber gloves and a bucket and she'll get it into tip-top shape," Travis said. He looked around again. "I think it's worse than when Connor and I were in charge.

"For some reason I doubt that," Izzy said. Chiron chuckled a bit. "Anyway, Izzy, your cabin was just headed over to the arena for some sword work. Now, I'm not sure if you've ever used a..." he stopped as Izzy reached into the side pocket of her suitcase and pulled out a short knife. When she spun her hand around, it extended to a two foot sword.

"My mom trained me," she said. "So that I could protect myself from monsters and stuff."

"Well, then, let's show you the way then," Chiron said. "We'll of course equip you with armor so you don't get hurt..."

"Ah, I have a feeling she'll take after her dad," Travis said placing a hand on Izzy's shoulder as they headed out of the cabin.

Izzy was a little upset to see that Sonny was gone from where she had left him, but wasn't going to let it get her down.

The four Stolls all met up after each daughter had gone to an activity and met their cabin. Travis and Katie hugged and kissed their daughters, bidding them good-bye, and Addy and Izzy waved them off. Izzy had to hold back tears.

They then made their way to the dining pavilion, as it was time for dinner. They knew how it worked, how they'd get their food, but make an offering to the gods first. Izzy and Addy kept sending one another glances, as they wanted to be sitting together, but had to sit with their cabin.

As soon as everyone was seated, however, Chiron stepped to the middle of the room. "This is an exciting year for us, here at Camp Half-Blood," he announced. "We have a few of our Roman cousins spending a few weeks here, helping to keep the peace between our two camps. I hope you will all help to make them feel welcome."

There were a few mumbles and nods, and two kids ducked down their heads, trying to not be noticed.

"As well, we have two very special girls," Chiron continued. "Not the daughters of any god or goddess, but instead the children of a son of Hermes and a daughter of Demeter. They possess the gifts of their grandparents, and are unique among their kind, Half-Bloods of a different type. Once again, I'm sure you will all do your part to help them adjust."

Addy beamed and waved when people looked around, but Izzy, like the Romans had, tried her best to not be noticed. Until Sonny spotted her. He smiled at her and she smiled back, her cheeks getting a little warm.

"Lastly, I'd like to introduce this year's senior counselor, and leader of the head of the cabins," Chiron said. He motioned to the head table, where Mr. D always sat. Next to him was a woman that very few had even bothered to notice (mostly because they didn't want to look in Mr. D's general direction). But this woman had long locks of brown hair, bright blue eyes, and a beautiful face. "Daughter of Aphrodite, Linda Belle. She has asked to be called Miss Linda."

Boys whistled while girls whispered about how pretty she was. Some of the older campers remembered her from their first years attending camp. However, Izzy and Addy were both horrified. Before them was the woman that had almost ruined their perfect family life, and she was probably out for revenge.


	3. Chapter 2

**So, here's the second full chapter. I hope it is to your expectations. Now, unlike the Demigod trap, I have no idea where this is going and where it is going to end. If you are wondering, no, neither Addy nor Izzy will be going on a quest.**

**Also, happy Novel writing month. That's right, November is the month for all you poets and novelists to give up your social life and write the novel you've always dreamed of. So, this is your chance to do it. Cheers.**

* * *

Chapter 2

"This is bad, Addy," Izzy whispered hurriedly to her sister at the campfire, the first chance the two had to talk since learning that Linda was going to be a counselor and could easily put the two of them in trouble whenever she wanted. "Really, really bad. We could call Mother and Father at Uncle Connor's house before they set off for Maine and have them pick us up. They'll understand."

"Hey, we are not doing that," Addy said. She stuck a marshmallow onto a stick and held it near the fire. "We already learned that we can stick up to her and let her have it. I understand why you're so afraid, but I had to mentally prepare myself to have her be my step-mother, thank Zeus that _that _didn't come to pass."

Izzy nodded. "She's got to be over that by now, I guess," she said. "It's been over eight months."

"Well if it isn't my two favorite miscreants," the soft and smooth voice of Linda sounded behind the two. She smiled in a way that showed that she was very much not over the whole affair. "What a surprise to see you here, considering that you're not children of the gods."

"They clearly don't care, because we have their gifts and they let us over the border," Addy said, looking directly into Linda's blue eyes.

"What _are_ you doing here, anyway?" Izzy asked. "I thought camping really wasn't your thing."

"Oh, I would hardly call this camping compared to last year's disastrous excursion," Linda said. "Notice how we even have marshmallows here?"

"I noticed how you're not eating any," Addy said, as hers set on fire. She quickly blew it out before flicking off a piece of ash and placing it on a graham cracker with chocolate on it.

"You still haven't answered my question," Izzy said, taking Addy's stick as Addy took a bit of her s'more.

"Well, even demigods need jobs," Linda said. "You two may not have known this, but I had quit my job to become your father's assistant. When you two wrecked our wedding, my old work had already filled my position. This was the only job I could get with decent enough wages, though working with children is anything but a dream. I should be happy with your father right now."

"Maybe you've forgotten how he was carrying a ring for our mother in his pocket at your wedding," Izzy said. "Clearly, he was completely committed to marrying you."

"Minor detail," Linda said, avoiding all eye contact.

"How does it feel to know you will never be more than number four in the list of women in Travis Stoll's life?" Izzy asked with a smirk.

Linda screwed up her beautiful face in anger. "What gives you two the right to even be here?"

"This does," Addy said, throwing her hand down, then up, bring the grass to life and entangling the woman's lower legs.

"Let's go, Addy," Izzy said, grabbing her sister's arm and dragging her away from Linda as the older daughter of Aphrodite growled and struggled against the grass. "You can't do that. You'll get in trouble. She can punish us now."

"Oh, where's your sense of adventure?" Addy asked. "Plus, if she tries, we'll just play innocent and say it's revenge for Dad not marrying her."

Izzy smiled. "That could so work," she said.

"Hey, are you girls joining in on the camp singing?" Sonny asked, walking up to them with a bright smile on his face. Izzy's cheeks went red, and Addy definitely noticed even if it was only in the light of the fire.

"Kumbiyaing isn't really my thing," Addy said.

"Well, you are in luck," Sonny said. "As head of Apollo cabin, I get to pick the songs, and I'm not big on traditional campfire songs either." He smiled at the two.

"Yeah, but his song selection still sucks," a girl said, coming up from the other side of him. She stepped in front of him and got on her toes, kissing him quickly on the lips. "Missed you at archery today. My shooting still sucks and I won't get better if my teacher doesn't show up to help me."

"Sorry," Sonny said throwing his hand behind his head. "I was with these two. Char, meet Addy and Izzy."

"Hi," the girl said, turning to the two girls. She stuck out a hand for them to shake, which Addy did. Izzy was a little shocked and wide-eyed. "I'm Chardonnay, but call me Char."

"One guess which god your dad is," Addy said, pretending to tip a glass of wine into her mouth.

"I didn't know..." Izzy said slowly getting over her shock. "That you have a girlfriend."

"Oh, no, we're not really together like that," Sonny said. He gestured to the black-haired Char. "We're more friends with benefits."

"Good benefits," Char said with a wink. She pushed some of her curly black hair off her shoulder. She smiled, her nose wrinkling a bit and her green eyes shining. "So, I hear that both your parents are half-bloods, and yet you still ended up with the powers of the gods?"

"Yeah," Izzy said, her cheeks turning a bright red color.

"That's cool," Char said.

"Sonny!" One of the other campers, another blonde with blue eyes, called from closer to the campfire.

"Oh, sorry, but I have to go," he said. "We're starting the sing-a-long." He smiled at the three girls and turned around, heading for the others in the Apollo cabin. Izzy stared after him for a few moments before turning to Addy.

"He really is something," Char said, her smile turning into a smirk. She poked Izzy's shoulder. "He's not really the dating type, but I'll let you have some benefit time if you're a good girl." Izzy stood stock still, her blue-green eyes wide with shock as Char just laughed a bit and continued on, sitting with a few of her friends.

* * *

The next morning proved very different for the Stoll twins.

Izzy woke up at exactly 6:15, stretched, and then set to work in Cabin Eleven's bathroom. With all the windows opened, Izzy found some cleaners that seemed to have never been opened and began cleaning every surface. She started with the counter, the mirrors, the sinks, faucets, walls, floors. She gagged as she pulled wads of hair from the shower drains, and then scrubbed the showers clean.

When she had finished, none of her cabinmates had yet to wake up. She took advantage of this and took a good long shower, basking in the fact that it was clean.

"What happened?" she heard voices when she was finished. She pulled on her clothes and wrapped her hair in a towel.

"This is what bathrooms are supposed to look like," Izzy said, stepping out.

"I for one like it," one small boy with mousy hair said.

"It is nice," another girl said with a smile.

It was decided that the cleanliness was appreciated. "And, if everyone just cleans up after him or herself, it can stay this way. That means pick up hair that you shave or shed, dry up water off the counters, and clean the mirror if you get soap on it. And, at the very least once a week, we should use actual cleaners to sanitize it."

"I'll pay you to do it," one kid said, looking down from his top bunk.

Izzy stared as everyone nodded. "Fine then," she said. "Hundred a week and I'll keep the bathroom in tip top shape." She had already done all the hard work, keeping it good would be a piece of cake.

* * *

Addy woke up to giggles. She pulled her covers up and put her pillow over her head. However, the giggles persisted.

Finally, she sat up. All six girls, aged approximately nine through sixteen, were showered, and dressed. None of them had dried their hair, and the oldest two had the driest, while the youngest's hair was still dripping a bit.

"About time you woke up," Leiko, the cabin leader, said. She had a Polynesian look about her, with certain Asian features, tanned skin, and black hair. However, like all the other girls, her eyes were green. "We thought we might wake you with our giggling."

"You did," Addy said, scratching her hair.

"Well, bathe quickly because breakfast is in half an hour and we can't really clean the bathroom before you've bathed."

Addy groaned, but crawled out of bed. When she got to the bathroom, however, she noticed that there was a drawn bath. The water seemed dirty. "What is this?" she asked. "I'm not going to bathe in that."

"But, we wouldn't want to waste water," Leiko said.

"If I get into that, I'll end up dirtier than when I got in," Addy said. "There are ways to take showers that don't use much water." She reached in and pulled the plug, draining the water. She then shut the door to the shower to her sisters, and as soon as it had drained, she turned on the shower head and climbed in. As she always did, she wet herself, shampooed and rinsed. She then turned off the water, while she used conditioner, soap, and then shaved. She turned the water back on for less than a minute to wash it all off, and was out, squeaky clean.

"Your total time with water on was less than three minutes," one girl said, looking at her watch. "That's amazing."

"And, wow, I still got clean," Addy added. She looked around the bathroom, but didn't see any outlets. "Where do I plug in my hair dryer?"

"Oh, we don't use those in here," Leiko said. "We only use natural means to our looks."

"Oh, like that blush and mascara on your face?" Addy asked. She walked to her things, slipped into sandals, and took her hair dryer, heading to Cabin Eleven.

"Whoa, you must be Izzy's sister," one boy said as Addy walked into the cabin.

"I need an outlet," she said, walking to the bathroom. She quickly raided Izzy's things, as Izzy was not around, and found a hairbrush. She dried her hair quickly and dropped the brush back on Izzy's bed, along with the hair dryer. No use bringing it back if she couldn't even use it in her own cabin.

When Addy got back to her cabin, her bed had been made, her towel hung to dry, and her pajamas were folded and back in the drawer. She slipped off her sandals, and into her gym shoes. She then quickly brushed her teeth, and when she got back to her bed to put her tooth brush back with her stuff, her sandals had been lined neatly along her bed, next to her night shoes. All the work done, none of the effort put in. She could get used to it.

* * *

"Okay, campers," Linda stood at the front of the dining pavilion as everyone ate. "This morning, we have a meeting with a few former campers. That means this morning's usual activities have been post-poned. You may do what you please, and the heads of cabins are in charge. However, there is to be no fighting, except in the arena under camp battle rules, and no horseplay." She looked around. "And, if you break camp rules, you will be caught, and you will be punished."

With that, she left and walked with Chiron to the Big House.

"I wonder what kind of meeting... Addy?" Leiko suddenly realized Addy was gone.

"I want to climb the wall," Addy said, staring up at the wall, lava leaking from one crack slowly.

"Are you crazy?" Izzy asked. "You could get killed on that. You can't have ambrosia if you get hurt like everyone else here, Addy!"

However, it was too late. Addy had strapped on a helmet and was grasping a few rocks, going upward. She was about twenty feet up when someone came up next to her. They both reached for the same rock, her with her left hand and him with his right. She grasped it before he could.

"I won," she said. "Either find a new rock or wait."

The boy smirked at her. He had to be about her age, but his build seemed older. He had light brown hair and dark brown eyes. His skin was tanned, and he had a few scars on his bare arms. "I choose C," he said, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her off. She yelled as she fell from the wall and hit the ground. And he just laughed.

Addy hit with a soft thud, and all the air was knocked out of her. However, aside from that, she was fine. She took a few deep breaths to get back to her feet, and then yelled up, a little strained, "Jerk! You will pay for that! Mark my words."

"Just try, you little daisy girl," he yelled back, sitting on the top. "You know this is a battle you're going to lose!"

Addy frowned and was about to chase him up, but Izzy grabbed her wrist. Addy turned to her twin, then took a deep breath and sighed. "Okay, your turn to pick an event."

"Show me the pegasi," Izzy said. "I didn't get to see them yesterday."

Addy nodded and smiled. "That I can agree with," she said and began heading toward the stables. She looked back and noticed that the boy was no longer at the top of the wall. "Who was that jerk?"

"I think he's a son of Ares," Izzy said. "I saw him at that table while we were eating this morning. He looked like the guy everyone seems to follow for them." She smiled and sighed a bit. "Kind of like Sonny is for the Apollo cabin."

"Oh, gods, seriously?" Addy questioned, even though it was so obvious. "You're into his kind of thing. But... he's such a boy scout... except for that benefits thing with his friend Char."


	4. Chapter 3

**Anyway, so this ends up being a longer chapter. Five hundred more words than the last chapter. More than three times the length of the prologue. **

**Anyway, here we get to meet three new characters, ones that will be actual characters. We get Sloan, Trixie, and Alex. No Linda in this chapter, just a mention of her. I promise I'll put her in the next one.**

**Also, for those of you that are into RPing, I just revamped my Percy Jackson RP. I'll put the link at the end of the chapter. As I have completely erased everything from the original one, it hasn't started yet, but that means room for lots of characters. All gods that have children are open to be used (this included the Big Three). I highly suggest that you check it out. I would love to get it up and running.**

* * *

Chapter 3

"We get arena time after the Big Three kids," Leiko explained to Addy as Cabin Four was currently collecting their preferred weapons. There were only five Big Three kids all together, two from Zeus, two from Hades, and one, the only girl among them, from Poseidon. "After the Big Three, we're kind of the strongest, because Demeter is their sister, Hera doesn't have demigod children, and Hestia is chaste. If you have the full potential of Demeter's children, you'll be amazed at how powerful you can become. That's why, when we battle in plains and fields, and even in forests, we prefer to be barefoot. It's a connection to our powers that we otherwise lose. The Arena has no grass, and we wear footgear there, but at least it's practice for when we're not in the grassy plains."

Addy nodded. So her cabinmates believed themselves to be super-powerful. She looked at the selection of weapons, and began lifting a few, trying to test them out. Of course, she had no idea what she was doing. Finally, she grabbed a dagger, similar to the one that she had held against the Empousa, not that she had ever had the chance to use it. She had instead discovered her powers just in time to save Izzy, and it had been Izzy that had stabbed the creature.

She walked over to her mother's sisters, each holding a short sword, or a thin sword, all light and easy to handle. The Big Three kids were just finishing up and Chiron hadn't arrived for the Demeter girls just yet. Apparently the Big Three kids no longer needed his guidance with sword-play.

"Your name is Addison, right?" The words came from behind Addy and her cabinmates from Demeter stared at the speaker with wide green eyes, all identical to her mother's eyes.

She slowly turned her head to see the smirking son of Ares that had knocked her off the climbing wall the day before. She really wanted to punch him on the nose, but decided against that. His arm muscle alone looked about double both hers together. "It's Addy," she said. "And you would be stalking me because...?"

He simply laughed. "You wish," he said. "But you've got spunk. I hear you've never held a celestial bronze weapon before."

Addy screwed up her mouth. "I've held one before," she mumbled.

"It doesn't count if you don't at least take one swing," the Ares boy said.

Addy spun away from him. "What do you even care?"

"If you want, I could teach you," the boy said. "But it would cost you." He walked around her, as if checking her out, until he was standing in front of her again.

"I'd rather be mauled by a Hellhound," Addy insisted with a smirk of her own. "Anyway, I've already faced down an Empousa and I did _that_ fine without any of your help."

"I heard you took cover from anyone you could find while your sister charged it," he said with a laugh.

"Where'd you hear that?" Addy asked, frowning, threatening with the dagger she held. Okay, that was the truth more or less, but it was really the first monster that had ever attacked her.

"Miss Linda," the boy said. "She instructed me to come here to teach you." He pulled his sword from its scabbard and with a simple twist of his wrist, knocked the dagger from her hand. He tossed the sword to his left hand and held out his now free right hand to shake her now empty hand. "I'm Sloan Ryder, but call me Master."

At that, she threw the punch. He easily caught her fist, and flipped her to the ground. "I can see this is going to be a _long _summer for the both of us... but at least I'll enjoy some of it."

"He's not head of the Ares cabin," Trixie said to Addy as she was sitting with Izzy and one of the girls from the Hermes cabin. Trixie and Addy were painting their toenails, while Izzy just dug her feet into the grass.

Trixie was the only girl that Izzy could really stand from her cabin so far. She was pretty chill, and was the only one that had cleaned up after herself in the bathroom. Izzy knew she'd have to clean the whole thing every day, but for one hundred bucks a week, it would be worth it. It already proved to be much easier the second day than the first.

"But he is the most talented and Ares's obvious favorite here," Trixie continued. "He's got, like, three enchanted weapons and specially made armor. And, compared to his brothers, he's actually kind of cute."

"Ew, gods no," Addy shook her head. "And it's not like I want him to teach me... I think Linda just assigned him to me to annoy me all summer."

"It could be worse," Trixie said. "At least she gave you a really good teacher."

"That's true," Izzy said. She shrugged. "Maybe she's taking her job here more seriously than her hatred of us."

"I still can't believe that you two managed to stop the wedding of a daughter of Aphrodite. It must be the Hermes in you."

"Well, technically, our parents stopped it," Izzy said.

"But we did all the work leading up to it," Addy added. "And it was definitely the Hermes in us." She then proceeded to tell the story of how the twins had met, switched places, and arranged everything, Izzy adding a few details.

And Trixie, of course, loved every bit of it.

"You do realize exactly what all that was, right?" Trixie said once they were finished with their story.

"A lot of work?" Izzy questioned.

"No," Trixie said. "It was a manifestation of powers from my dad, your granddad."

"Wait, what?" Addy questioned, leaning forward. "So, I do have powers of Hermes as well?"

"It seems so," Trixie said. "A minor power or even just a knack for it, but a power nonetheless."

"Does the fact that I can name nearly every plant here count as a power of Demeter?" Izzy asked.

"I don't think so," Trixie said, shaking her head. "You don't want to move out, do you?"

"No," Izzy said. "I'm getting paid for something that I'd probably do for free. But, it doesn't seem fair that Addy gets powers from both our godly grandparents and I don't."

"Hey, you have a minute mile," Addy said, her tone of slight jealousy. "When you're going slow."

"Okay, you have a point," Izzy said. "But, still, I would love to be able to manipulate plants. I could, like, help Mother with her business."

"Your priorities are so skewed," Trixie said, rolling her blue eyes.

Izzy was pretty good with a sword, but when she was at the archery range, she quickly learned that she wasn't naturally gifted in all demigod weapons. In fact, she was the worst at the bow and arrow in her cabin. She could have sworn that she was better the year before, but maybe the fact that all the girls at that camp were rookies as well just made her look better.

"Lift your elbow," Izzy froze when she heard Sonny's voice behind her. He lightly lifted her elbow so that it was even with her hand. "It helps that arrow fly straighter." He chuckled. "And don't forget to keep breathing."

Izzy took a breath, aimed, and released the arrow. At least this time she hit the target. "Better," Sonny said.

Izzy smiled turning to him. "What are you doing here?"

"I help teach archery," he said. "When I can. Usually with the newer campers. Granted, your sister was already pretty good."

"Yeah, she was the best last year at our other camp," Izzy said, her cheeks turning red.

"You're not bad," Sonny said. "Everyone needs to start somewhere. And, believe me, I've seen some kids here who couldn't shoot an arrow more than three feet. One kid even managed to hit the person standing behind him."

Izzy giggled and blushed a little more noticing that his bright blue eyes were still on her. "How about we shoot a few more off," he said. "Just to improve upon your form, okay?"

Izzy nodded. "I'd really like that."

He pulled an arrow from his own quiver. To Izzy, it looked like any other arrow, except that it came from Sonny. She made note to remember exactly which one it was so she could retrieve it later... for practical purposes, so that she'd have a good arrow if she ever needed one, not one of the practice arrows.

She prepped again, this time feeling a little like jelly because Sonny was so close and adjusting her stance and arms and even her head. Once she was in the proper stance, in his eyes, he stood close to her, on the opposite side from where she held the bow. "Pull back," he said closely in her ear so that his breath tickled her face. "And release."

Izzy let go of the arrow, and it soared, striking the target just a few inches from the bullseye. Izzy smiled. "That was awesome!" she cheered and jumped up and down a few times. "I never shot that well before."

"That was great, Iz," Sonny said, holding his hand up for a high five. She timidly struck his hand with hers. "Let's see a few more, make sure you really have the hang of it."

"Oh Sonny!" Another girl from Cabin Eleven called. "I'm having trouble again."

Sonny sighed and looked at Izzy. "It seems that Angelia is need of help again," he said with a shrug. "But, keep working hard. I'll check on you later."

Izzy watched as he walked down to Angelia. Angelia was giggling and brushing her long blonde hair from her shoulders and it looked like she was purposely being clumsy with her bow and the arrows. And then Izzy looked at Angelia's target, which has several arrows within centimeters of the center.

Izzy slowly picked up the arrow and notched it, aimed, and then released. It was a perfect shot, soaring way over the target. The guys on either side of her snickered.

"Sonny, I think you'd better supervise this one a little more before she ends up hurting someone," another of the guys said. Izzy just looked innocent when Sonny looked in their direction.

Addy was heading toward what she was certain would be her least favorite chore at camp, though the rest of her cabin raved about it. Strawberry picking. Sure, Addy liked strawberries as much as the next person, but she doubted that she'd be too into picking them for two hours with girls who talked about plants nonstop. Even when they did gossip, it was about people Addy didn't know. Leiko always added on, "They were campers last summer," or "Unfortunately she died in a Hellhound attack in the fall. Tragic, really."

However, she suddenly felt the tip of a sword scratch the center of her back, when she was just two feet from the gate to the fields.

"You're exempt for today," a voice said. Addy immediately recognized it as Sloan Ryder, or as he wanted to be called, Master. She, of course, would not be calling him such.

"Oh, goody," Addy said, taking a step forward so his sword wasn't touching her anymore, and spun to face him. "I guess I'll just take a nap."

"Not a chance," Sloan said, grabbing her arm and he began dragging her, not toward the arena, as she expected, but toward the forge. "A knife is not your natural weapon. I figure you're more of a broad sword type of girl. So, we're getting you a sword that suits you. After all, I can only teach you so much if you have so little to work with." He glanced down at her. "Same applies to the Aphrodite girls when it comes to you."

Addy's eyes flashed and she tried to kick him. She instead missed him when he moved his leg, and then he kicked the legs out from under her within a second. She landed hard on her back again.

"Why is it that within a minute of every encounter we have," Addy said, groaning as she picked herself back up. He of course, offered no help. "I end up on the ground."

"You have to learn respect," Sloan said. "That's why." He turned her toward the forge again, and threw the doors open when they arrived.

Inside was a, well, Addy couldn't tell if it was a guy or a girl. The person had short hair, but it was styled almost like every famous lesbian that Addy could think of. As well, the person was tall and lean, but wore a thick hoodie, goggles around the neck, and a tool belt slanted at the hips, covering anything that might help her. The person was the most androgynous person she had ever seen.

"Sloan Ryder," it said. Even the voice didn't help. It could have been a feminine male's voice or a masculine girl's voice. It also sounded like it could be a boy her age, just before the it began to crack and change. "How can I help you today? And who did you bring."

The person regarded Addy in a way that was judging someone up. Not like she may be competition romantically in any way or a possible person to be romantic with. Addy almost felt like she was being looked at the way one looks at a dog while judging for a dog show.

"This is Addy Stoll," Sloan said. "I'm sure you've heard about the twins."

"Ah, yes, I had the pleasure of meeting Izzy at the arena the other day," the person said. "Good with a sword." The person smiled at Addy. "I'm Alex, but the way."

Addy smiled and shook the offered hand, which was covered in a huge glove. And Alex worked for either male or female.

"Is Alex short for something?" Addy asked, releasing the hand. She hoped that a full name of maybe Alexander or Alexis or Alexia or Alexandra would help.

"No, just Alex," the person said.

"Anyway, we're here to see if we can't find her a proper weapon," Sloan said. "So, we were hoping that there might be some spares here to see if any just seem to call her name."

"You know, I'm good with a bow," Addy said. "Sonny said that I could almost be a child of Apollo."

Sloan's eyes darkened, and almost seemed to burn for a moment. Alex also huffed. Addy quickly got the impression that she had said something wrong.

"Yes, well, if Sonny decreed it..." Alex said, pulling off the goggles. No Adam's apple. Alex then pulled off the gloves, revealing smaller hands than Addy had expected and chipped purple nail polish.

"I'm guessing that you two aren't fans of Sonny," Addy said. She turned to Alex. "Bad break-up?"

"Oh, no, you need to be together to break up," Alex said. Definitely a she. "No, he just used be and bruised me. Had me update his bow and arrows, and then was off with Char or Leiko, or whoever he was into that day.

"Leiko?" Addy asked. "Is she another one of his friends with benefits?" She wouldn't be surprised. Leiko was actually doing okay at archery until Sonny had shown up to help. Suddenly the whole time he was supposed to be teaching Addy he spent with Leiko. And they had been awfully flirty.

Sloan, who had not spoken, just frowned. "I don't want you spending time pretending that archery is your friend. It's a weak form of offense."

Addy blinked. "Okay, how about I get a new archery tutor. He'll probably just say that I don't need much work... maybe give me a pointer or two." Sloan huffed, but nodded.

"I, for one, think archery can be useful," Alex said. She opened a cabinet and pulled out a quiver. She then stocked it with arrows, nicer than the practice arrows, but otherwise nothing special.

"I still think she needs a sword," Sloan said.

"Calm yourself down, grumpy pants," Addy said. Sloan growled and stomped out. He said before slamming the door behind him, "And don't come back out until you've found a real sword, not a pin."

"Wow," Alex said. "What did you do to get under his skin? I mean, I know he doesn't like Sonny, but it's not like you're fawning over him..."

"That boy scout?" Addy asked. "So not my type. Too... peppy."

Alex laughed lightly. A female laugh definitely. "If I had called him a grumpy pants, he'd have just call me Vanilla Swirl or something."

Addy looked at Alex for a moment. "Are you two..."

"What, oh no," Alex shook her head. "He's like a brother to me. We have a working relationship where I make weapons, and then he teaches me how to use them... and then I make him one for himself. He has the most weapons of anyone here. The ones I've given him, and the ones his father bestows on him."

"But, you want there to be something more," Addy said, smirking.

"Um, not unless he shrank three inches, grew his hair longer and bleached it white blonde, got green eyes, and began wearing tight red pants," Alex said.

"Wait, that's Orion... Zeus's kid," Addy said slowly.

Alex's cheeks flamed. "Yeah, I know," she said. "I always fall for guys out of my reach."

"Oh, girl, he is so not out of your reach," Addy said. "You just have to get out there and get him to notice you."

"How do I do that?" Alex asked. She stepped closer to Addy, her eyes swirling with hope.

"Well, first, we might need to do some recon and find out what kind of girls he's into," Addy said. "And that is where your friendship with Sloan is going to come in handy."

* * *

**Once again, my RP is just opening. Here's the site.**

** forum/Another-Camp-Half-Blood-RP/99012/**

**I'm sure you know the drill, replace and actual period, as will end this sentence.**

**Also, review, review, review. Constructive criticism. So, how about your first impressions on Sloan, Trixie, and Alex.**


	5. Chapter 4

**This chapter was about to get really long. So, I think that the next chapter will come pretty quickly. I really am posting this as I write it. But, that's what makes it fun, right?**

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Chapter 4

"You want us to what?" one of the Aphrodite girls asked when Addy came to them with a request.

"Help Alex appear a little more... feminine," Addy said. Alex, of course, wasn't there. She was working on fixing up the sword that Addy had finally settled on.

"The boy from the forge," another asked.

"Alex is a girl," Addy said. The sets of beautiful eyes staring at her showed that none of them had taken the time to learn this. "No, really, she is."

"Someone should tell her that," the first girl said, turning back to her nails which she was painting pink.

"Hey, with all her brothers and her natural skills in forging, it's not easy to remember to be girly," Addy said. "And I'm not asking to make her into a clone of you all."

"Us all?" a third girl asked. She frowned. "So, to you we're all just Barbies?"

Addy lowered her head. "No, not at all," she said. "I know that DOAs aren't-"

"DOAs?" yet another asked.

"Daughters of Aphrodite," Addy said. She had to remember not to refer to them as that. It was to be reserved for Linda only. "But, as I was saying, I spent several weeks with Linda last summer."

"Oh, yes, we know," the oldest said standing up. "Linda told us what horrible girls you and your sister are... especially you."

"Well, I'm not asking you for me," Addy said.

"No," the girl said. "I'm counselor of this cabin, and I say that anyone who has hurt one... DOA..." she narrowed her eyes knowing that Addy meant that in a sort of derogatory way, "has hurt all of us. So my answer is no. We will not help her."

"What?" Addy widened her eyes in surprise. "But, this isn't for me. It's for Alex."

"Like we care," the first one said again.

"But, your mother is the goddess of love and beauty," Addy said. "And there is a guy that Alex likes. And, it's not a total make-over. Maybe just a suggestion of what to wear or tiny make-up tips to keep a natural but feminine look."

"Then, maybe she should come and make a plea with us," the oldest said. "Because, there is no way we're going to help you."

With that, and a wiggle of one of the girl's nose, Addy suddenly felt a breeze and looked down to see her ripped jeans had become a skirt. The girls were giggling about how 'stick-like' Addy's legs were as the she walked away, trying her best not to stomp as she went.

Her face felt heavy and she had a strong suspicion that she probably had some sort of magical make-up on. By the time she made it back to the Demeter cabin and got a look at herself in the mirror, she had discovered that the Aphrodite girls had really remade her whole look.

Rather than her shorter, choppy hair, she now had long flowing locks, high-lighted throughout. There was a light dusting of shimmer on her lids, her eyes were outlined in black, and her lashes longer than she had ever seen them. There was a soft, rosy color to her cheeks, and her lips were glossed over. Addy's shirt was no longer the shapeless, generic orange Camp Half-Blood shirt, but rather was now form-fitting, and she indeed was in a skirt and heeled sandals.

The over-all effect was nothing like Addy, and she hated it.

Seven scrubs of her face, and the only thing that had changed was that her face had a sunny glow. No type of hair piece would contain the beautiful locks of hair, and every time she changed her shirt or bottoms, they would change, so that her bed ended up with a pile of skirts and baby tees. Even Addy's nails, which had previously been painted green, had been turned to a light pink color.

She finally left her cabin, angrily, wondering how long she'd be stuck looking like this.

"Hey, um, Izzy, right?" Addy heard Sloan's voice a few feet behind her as she was on her way to find Izzy. She turned to him, frowning. For a moment, Sloan's eyes widened, and Addy noticed the brown orbs look her up and down. He then looked at her face, squinted, and said, "Wow, those Aphrodite girls got to you."

"They butchered me," she said. "I look..." she threw her hands up in frustration.

"You know, Addison."

"It's Addy!"

"Most girls would appreciate a make-over of any kind from those girls," Sloan said. "They are incapable of making anyone look worse."

"I look like a Barbie Doll," Addy yelled.

Sloan smirked, staring at Addy. "Did you find a sword?"

"Yes," Addy said. "Alex is in the forge sharpening it."

Sloan nodded, his eyes traveling over Addy again.

"And stop that!" Addy yelled. She felt so exposed and weak and just wanted the spell to wear off."

Sloan just chuckled. "After dinner, meet in the arena. Tomorrow is capture the flag and you are wholly unprepared. Ares has already been partnered up with Demeter, and we don't need you screwing the whole thing up for us."

"What makes you so certain that I'll-" before she could finish, Sloan had hooked a foot behind Addy's ankle, and pulled her foot out from under her, causing her to fall onto her back with a loud 'Oomf.'

"That's why," Sloan said.

"You know," Addy said, still on her back, hoping Sloan might offer a helping hand this time. She was disappointed as usual. "I am really starting to hate you." She pushed herself up a bit. "I think I'll beg Linda to lift this curse."

"What makes you think she will?" Sloan asked with a chuckle.

Addy smirked, but then turned the smirk into a smile, took a step closer to him, and squinted her eyes just a bit. "Oh," she said, reaching up and twirling a bit of her hair. Sloan's brown eyes widened immediately. "I think that she figures I could still use this to my advantage."

Sloan placed his strong hands on Addy's shoulders, and held them there for a moment. Addy wasn't sure if he was about to push her back, or pull her closer. Finally, he slowly extended his arms, forcing Addy to take a few steps back.

"Never, do that again," Sloan said.

* * *

Trixie was using the mirror in the Hermes Cabin, which now, thanks to Izzy, actually showed an accurate reflection. She was curling each of her natural curls to perfection with a curling iron just after dinner while most of the cabin was off doing who knew what... pranking, horse-play, stealing...

Izzy sat on the counter, watching as Trixie fixed her hair. She wasn't sure why Trixie was perfecting her hair; it looked fine in Izzy's opinion.

"Is there something that I should know about that's happening tonight?" Izzy asked.

"Start of the year beach bonfire," Trixie said. She grabbed another curl and wrapped it around the hot iron. "It's loosely chaperoned... as in the real camp heads, Chiron and Mr. D, are nowhere to be seen. I doubt Miss Linda will be there either. Anyway, it's when most of the summer romances start. Last year, Agape, one of Aphrodite's daughters, tripped into Lux's arm... uh, Lux is a son of Apollo... he's more talented with light than any of his siblings. Anyway, Agape and Lux were considered last year's cutest couple. Everyone's just waiting for them to turn eighteen, because we all think that Lux is going to propose next summer, assuming they're still together, which they probably will be. And, of course there was Euclid and Helen the year before. They were only a summer fling, a son of Nike and a daughter of Eros, but you could not go anywhere without finding them in a major mack session."

"Wait, is Agape the brunette or the blonde with the super green eyes?" Izzy asked.

"Brunette," Trixie replied. "Hazel eyes, I think. Anyway, not the brightest star in the sky, but still, you've got to give her props for her boy."

"Does Euclid have two different color eyes?" Izzy asked. "One blue one brown. With sandy blonde hair and tanned skin?"

"Yep, that's him," Trixie said. "He's a bit old for you." Trixie smiled at Izzy. "Not that you'd be interested, as you've got your eye on Sonny."

"What!" Izzy squeaked, her cheeks turning the color of cherries.

"Oh, it's so obvious," Trixie said. "After Angelia began messing up, you purposely started to as well, to get him to help you." She finally finished her hair and moved onto her make-up. "Anyway, you're going to have a lot of competition there. I mean, Angelia never really managed to get him to even look at her outside of archery class, but there's still Leiko and Char, who are his..."

"Friends with benefits," Izzy said. "Yeah, I met Char."

"Anyway, he's a nice guy," Trixie said. "But, if you want him..." she rifled through her things and grabbed some blush. "You'll need to shine a bit. So, shimmer is the way to go tonight."

Izzy looked at the shimmer powder and blush and eye shadow that Trixie placed next to her. She had never really ever worn much make up, just a little lip gloss or tinted lip balm. At a dance during the year, Katie had helped her apply some make-up, but even that was just blush and mascara. And, of course, Linda had insisted that all her bridesmaids... even the ones she didn't like... wore make-up, but that had been professionally applied.

Finally, Izzy nodded and grabbed the blush, lightly putting a bit on. Trixie sighed. "Come here," she said. She ran the brush over the stiff powder a few times, and then slid it over one of Izzy's cheeks. She repeated the process with the other cheek. She then grabbed the body shimmer and spread it over all of Izzy's exposed skin, keeping it very light on the face except for the cheeks. And then she used a light shimmer eye-shadow on Izzy's lids, and then then put on a few coats of mascara.

"Isn't it a little pointless?" Izzy asked. "Won't it be difficult to notice all this at a bonfire at night?"

Trixie sighed. "Not if we get there just before the sun sets, or if we're near enough to the fires that the light reflects." She looked herself over one last time, and then nodded. "It'll have to do. Let's go."

She packed up all her make-up and put the box back into the cabinet she stored it in. "And, remind me to do something about your nails tomorrow."

"What's wrong with my nails?" Izzy asked.

"They look like you've been taking up the Cabin four way of natural looks... which, then again, you have." She grabbed Izzy's wrist and dragged her out, heading toward the beach before the sun was gone.

* * *

"Have a drink, Izzy!"

Izzy was startled when Char appeared next to her, a few cups in her hand. She had lost Trixie in the crowd within moments, and had been mostly ignored by the rest of the occupants for the most part. A lot of them whispered about how she didn't belong, and a few Aphrodite girls glared daggers at her.

She had spotted Agape and Lux, slow dancing in the dim light of the fire despite a lack of music. And even Euclid, who was successfully wooing a few Apollo girls. But, for the most part, she didn't really know people. She couldn't spot Addy anywhere.

And then there was Sonny, who was on a log with Leiko, acting super flirty.

Char held out a cup to Izzy. It was empty.

"Is this a joke?" Izzy asked, worry creasing her brow.

"What's your poison?" Char asked, giggling, holding her hand over the cup.

"Um... water?"

Char hung her head for a moment. "Okay, what kind of alcohol do you want?"

Izzy's blue-green eyes shot wide open. "I... that's..."

"Strawberry wine it is," she said, and a moment later, the cup was filled with a red liquid. Izzy just stared at it. "Go on, try it."

"Won't I get in trouble?" Izzy asked.

"Only if Miss Linda catches you," Char said. "But she's not here. Plus," she nodded over her shoulder where there was a table with a bunch of punch bowls. "It just looks like punch." She touched the cup. "And, when you want a refill, just go for the fruit punch. It'll become more of the wine." Char then took a swig of her own cup, a darker red drink.

"And that is?"

"Too strong for you," Char said. "But, be careful with those. They'll sneak up on you."

Izzy brought the drink up to her lips and took a sip. it was strong, with a burn of alcohol, but sweet at the same time. She took a second drink, and this lasted a little longer than the first sip. The burn as it went down her throat was a distraction from Sonny and Leiko and the whispers.

"Don't worry about that," Char said, noticing Izzy's eyes travel back to Sonny. "There's nothing serious between those two."

Izzy turned to Char. "Don't you want anything between you and him to be serious?"

Char chuckled. "Who doesn't? But for Sonny, it's his way or nothing. Then again, for some he gets what he wants and they get nothing."

Izzy frowned and took another sip of her drink. She was slowly getting used to it. "What do you mean by that?" she asked once she had swallowed. "Surely he wouldn't use someone... he's not that type of guy."

"Have you ever heard of the word 'charisma'?" Char asked.

"An inspiring charm," Izzy said. "Attractive, alluring, magnetic."

"Okay, yeah, calm down there, Miss Thesaurus," Char said. She rolled her eyes. "When it comes to charisma, an image of Sonny would be shown as a photo of it." Char shrugged. "But, as long as there's no better options, why not have fun when you can, right?"

"Right..." Izzy said. She had another sip of her drink. She didn't particularly feel any different.

"I mean, I never know if I'll be back next year, after," she said. Char's green eyes moved down.

"Why wouldn't you come back next year?" Izzy asked, perplexed.

"Well, I guess the danger is less for you personally, but you must have seen a monster attack your parents at some point, right?" Char said.

"More than I like," Izzy said. "Last summer, an Empousa tried to kill both my parents, and would have been fine killing me as well."

"Well, as demigods, we're at risk of being killed by, well, a lot of things, actually," Char said. "Everyone here has seen a friend or sibling that has died... aside from the newest among us... like you and your sister. For you to have two demigod parents and an uncle all still alive is very rare."

"And I have an aunt," Izzy said. "She's not my mom's full sister, but a Demeter sister. She comes around once or twice a year."

"Well, a lot of Half-Bloods don't even make it here before they're found by nasty monsters," Char said. "Quests can get nasty... you never know. I don't plan to die without at least pretending, for short times, that I've found something special... someone special."

Izzy looked at Char, seeing the longing in her eyes as she looked at Sonny. "Maybe you should find something worth living for," she said. Char turned to Izzy again, a complete facial change. "If you're not going to fight to stay alive, then you will wind up as a monster's lunch. I've seen my mother fight to keep me alive. My dad too. They have love and Addy and me, and it's that drive that keeps them fighting, no matter the obstacle they face."

Char smiled a little. "That might be true, but they were lucky to have found one another."

"Well, if you only go for someone not willing to commit, you might miss the guy of your dreams," Izzy said. "I mean, look at Agape and Lux."

The two were still dancing, completely entranced with one another.

"You know," Char said, looking down at Izzy. "For a young one, you're very perceptive. You've got a lot of good advice to give out."

Izzy smiled. "I do what I can."

"You want in on some Sonny action?" Char asked. "Next time he comes to your archery lesson, make sure you just can't get your body position correct. He'll stand behind you and line his body up with yours to make sure you've got the right positioning. Make sure your hair is down, because he'll brush it off your shoulder, claiming it's tickling his face."

Izzy stared at Char. After basically telling Char that she should look for someone other than Sonny, the raven-haired daughter of Dionysus was basically telling Izzy how to get to be one of Sonny's regular girls.

Char smiled. "Anyway, gotta make sure that this party is a real party." She headed into the crowd, tapping cups that people were holding, probably making their drinks alcoholic.

Still, Izzy didn't see Addy anywhere. She figured she'd just drink a little more and hopefully find someone that would want to talk to her.

* * *

**Once again, thanks for reading. And thanks for reviewing *hint, hint***

**Also, check out my RP forum! ****Another Camp Half-Blood RP. It might be kind of down the list. But, searching for characters!**


	6. Chapter 5

**I know, it's been a while... though for me a short while. I know the first chapters went up in quick succession... but I had a lot going on. **

* * *

Chapter 5

The laughs of Linda made Addy's training the hardest. She could hear the party on the beach, but Sloan wasn't going to let her leave the arena until either Linda told them to return to their cabins, or she managed to actually land a blow against him.

Addy's dented armor, which had been completely perfect when they started, was a sign that Sloan was not letting her off easy.

"Look," Addy said as she was sitting on the ground, her sword skittering away, "don't you want to go to the party?"

"Not as much as you do, apparently," Sloan said. He pointed at Addy's sword with his own. "Pick it back up and let's get to trying again."

Addy stood and grabbed the sword again. She was slowly improving, able to last several attacks from Sloan now before utterly failing. It was all made harder by the fact that the curse the Aphrodite girls had placed on her was still in effect, meaning she was in a skirt and cute, tight shoes.

The light in the arena was an orange color, as the sun was setting outside. As Addy turned back to Sloan, she couldn't help but notice how the shadows on his face really enhanced his features. This time, Addy attacked first, which he was not expecting. He still easily blocked, pushed her back, and took a swing at her. Addy dodged this, and then blocked his next one.

And then, her wacky impulse hit. Her sword locked with his, she held it as strong as she could, and then lifted a foot, intending to pound it into his stomach. And she yelled as she did so. "This is Sparta!"

Sloan caught her foot with one hand, shocking Addy. She had hoped the element of awkwardness would throw him off his game. He twisted the wrist with his sword, causing Addy to drop her sword. But, she wasn't about to give up. She swung at him with one arm, trying to punch him, but he blocked her arm with his sword arm.

So she went for a head butt.

Addy opened her eyes to see the stars in the sky. The orange glow of the arena was gone and Sloan was standing over her. Linda was poking the girl with the toe of her shoe.

"Her eyes are open, you can stop that," Sloan said, looking at Linda.

"Whatever," Linda said, rolling her eyes. She looked down at Addy. "Wake up, Stoll. No sleeping in the arena."

Addy sat up, but things began to spin and she almost fell, even though she was only sitting. Sloan quickly knelt down next to her and caught her shoulders, holding her steady.

"What happened?" Addy asked. Her forehead hurt.

"Well, you tried to head butt me," Sloan said. "So, I met your head with with own head butt. Apparently my head is a lot harder than yours and it knocked you out."

Addy blinked a few times, as the words sank in. "Oh..."

"Come on, you might have a concussion," Sloan said. "I doubt you can have ambrosia or nectar, so let's get you to an Apollo camper."

"I say we test her," Linda said, holding a small bar of ambrosia. "What's the worst that can happen?"

"She could die," Sloan said. He scooped Addy into his arms and stood.

"What about my sword?" Addy asked as Sloan walked toward the exit of the arena. "Alex sharpened it and engraved my name at the bottom for me."

"I've got it," Sloan said. "It's in my belt."

"Oh... thanks," Addy said. She leaned her head against his shoulder. She was slightly impressed how gently he was handling her. She lightly lifted one hand and fake punched his other shoulder. "I landed a punch."

To her surprise, Sloan chuckled. "Yeah, you've got a concussion."

"Okay, wake me up when we get there," Addy said, closing her eyes. That was until she felt her feet dropping to the ground. The suddenness without warning jarred her, causing her to fully wake. Sloan was still holding her back, but had purposely dropped her legs. She stumbled a bit when her feet hit the ground, and clung to his shoulders to stay standing.

"What the Hades!" Addy asked, turning to him. One moment, he was trying to help her, and then he was dropping her.

"You can't fall asleep with a concussion," Sloan said. "You might not wake up. I am not going to be responsible for putting you into a coma, Addison."

"Oh..." Addy nodded.

Sloan lifted an eyebrow. "You're not going to yell at me?"

"For what," Addy asked. "Despite your methods of keeping me awake, your intentions were good."

"For calling you Addison," Sloan said.

"Oh... did you?"

Sloan chuckled again and began ushering her along again. It took Addy a few moments to realize they were heading toward the beach party. Luckily, Linda wasn't following.

"Lux," Sloan called once they were with the fray of the party. Addy was having trouble focussing on any thing. She noticed a boy turn toward her and Sloan. He was dancing with one of the Aphrodite girls... the one that had seriously not known that Alex was a girl. She, of course, was beautiful.

The two approached. Like all children of Apollo, Lux had brilliant blue eyes. "Something up?" Lux asked, his arm around the girl's waist.

"She has a concussion," Sloan said, placing his hand on Addy's shoulder. "And a few more bruises than I should have given her."

"Oh, I remember you," the girl said pointing at Addy. "Brea blessed you today. You're looking really good."

"Blessed?" Addy asked. "That's what you call this?" She gestured to everything that she was being forced to sport. A tight shirt, a short skirt, long flowing hair. She had tried to chop off the hair, but she doubted even the scissors of the Fates would be able to cut through it until the blessed curse was ended.

"So I take it that introductions aren't needed," Sloan asked, knowing that it would annoy Addy. "As, clearly, you and Agape go way back to this afternoon." He turned to Lux. "This is Addison. Addison, Lux, son of Apollo."

"Well, Addison, if you could stop giving a death glare to my girlfriend, I'll see what I can do about your concussion and bruises."

"I'll keep the bruises, thank you," she said. "And, please, call me Addy."

Lux just shrugged and placed his hands on either side of Addy's head, and then began chanting a hymn to his father. His hands began to glow, and the pain in Addy's head began to immediately recede. She sighed as the ebbing pain finally was gone and Lux stepped back.

Things were clearer, even in the dim light of the bonfire. She smiled. "Thank you, Lux. Nice to know that someone here isn't a total jackass." She shot a glare at Sloan.

Sloan just rolled his brown eyes and threw his hands up in defeat. "We're here, you might as well enjoy the party." He pulled her sword from his belt and held it out to her. "And make sure you thank Alex for this."

"Is Alex really a girl?" Agape asked, cocking her head to the side.

Lux and Sloan both turned to her. "Yes, she is," Sloan said finally.

* * *

Izzy stumbled around, after her third cup of the strawberry wine. She couldn't really taste the alcohol in it anymore, which she supposed was good. It was still sweet, however.

"Izzy Stoll!" the brown-haired girl turned, recognizing the voice as her own. She was greeted by a near mirror image, just a few things different, such as the clothing. And this girl had longer hair with beautiful highlights.

"Addy!" Izzy yelled and threw her arms around her twin. "When did your hair get so long?"

"About four this after noon," Addy said fingering her now long hair in annoyance. "It won't go away."

"Where have you been?" Izzy asked, trying to walk forward, but stumbled a bit.

"Whoa... have you been drinking?" Addy asked.

"No!" Izzy gasped in shock. She then looked to the side. "Okay, well... maybe a little. Char gave it to me."

Addy crossed her arms over her chest. "Not cool, girl. So not cool."

"Anyway, I need to get into the light of the fire," Izzy said. "So that I will glow and Sonny will notice me. Can you help me?"

Addy nodded. "Just... give me the cup, okay?"

Izzy nodded and held out her cup to Addy. Addy took it and put it on the table with the drinks. "Okay, we'll go toward it, but not too close. I don't need you tripping and falling in."

The two walked... well, Addy walked and Izzy clung to Addy like her life depended on it. But, within a minute, they were near enough to the fire that the light was hitting the shimmer and glitter on Izzy's body.

And Sonny looked up from where he was with Leiko. His eyes fell upon the twins, and his blue orbs lit up.

He stood up, and approached.

"Izzy," he said, regarding the twin that was residing in the Hermes Cabin. His eyes then rested on Addy. "Addy, I haven't seen you yet today. You haven't been hiding from me, have you?" He stepped closer to her. "I hear that you've been assigned a new archery teacher. My guess is that it was Ryder's idea. However, where you're at, only a real archer could help you to improve."

"Then I hope Roxy is as good an archer as you claim you are," Addy said.

"If you doubt my skill," Sonny said his voice lowered, seductive, and motioned to his quiver. "Then how about you and I head to the archery range and I show you that I always hit what I aim for."

Addy had to admit that the son of Apollo was attractive in nearly every physical way. He was handsome, strong, tall, beautiful eyes, and over all, alluring. But then Addy's eyes drifted to her sister, who, in her drunken stupor, didn't even seem to realize that the guy she had eyes for was hitting on her twin. Addy remembered talking with Alex earlier, and Sloan's obvious hatred for the Son of Apollo.

"I think it's a great idea," Addy said. She smiled and stepped back. "Hey, everyone! Sonny's gonna show us what a perfect archer he is. Anyone up to challenge his aim?"

Sonny's blue eyes widened. "Uh, I was thinking more of a private show..."

"Oh, I know exactly what you were thinking," Addy said. "And exactly what you were aiming for." She smirked. "And, nothing short of a spell from Aphrodite herself is gonna get you it."

Izzy clapped her hands in excitement. "Go Sonny! You're the best!"

"You wouldn't want to upset all your fans, now would you?" Addy asked.

Sonny chuckled a bit. "I won't," he said. "Tomorrow at noon," he called out. "All that dare challenge me, bring your bow and five arrows to the archery range." He then turned back to Addy and spoke quietly for her. "And, when I come out the champion of that, you and I will have private lessons."

Addy nodded. "I accept," she said, crossing her arms.

* * *

Izzy woke the next day to a horribly bright light and screeching loud noise. She prayed for sleep to come back, but it evaded her as the roaring in her ears grew louder. She pushed herself to the sitting position, and thanked every Greek god she could think of that she didn't need to throw up because she was on the upper bunk.

It turned out the horrible noises she heard were the early birds chirping and the snoring of her cabin mates. And the bright light; the sunlight just peeking up over the horizon. The sun itself was not yet visible.

Izzy climbed down from her bunk and stumbled to the bathroom where she discovered she was still covered in shimmer from the night before, though now it was smeared as she hadn't washed it off before falling asleep.

She grabbed a towel and hopped into one of the showers, allowing the water to wash over her for about ten minutes before actually grabbing her shampoo or any soap.

When she came out, Addy had made her way into the cabin and stood outside the shower with a bottle of water and two pills. Izzy grabbed both without thinking, popping them into her mouth and drinking down the whole bottle of water.

"Thirsty, I see," Addy said. She shook her head. "I assume you remember very little from yesterday."

"How did you know that I needed those?" Izzy asked.

"Twin telepathy," Addy said. "You're in pain, and I can feel it... to some degree. Plus, I was there last night."

"Really?" Izzy had no recollection of this. At present, she could only feel a raging headache and over all ickiness.

"Really," Addy said. "It might be for the better that you don't remember all of yesterday." Addy remembered how Sonny had basically ignored Izzy.

Izzy looked up at Addy, and then cocked her head. "Are you wearing make-up? And why is your hair long?"

"Long story," Addy said.

"At my present state, I think I have time," Izzy said.

"Some DOA cursed me," Addy said.

Izzy stared at Addy for a few moments, expecting more.

"Okay, maybe not such a long story," Addy said. "Are you going to be okay, because I have to find someone that's really good at archery."

"Sonny's good," Izzy said.

"Someone not him," Addy said. "Apparently, my new archery teacher isn't quite as much as a dead-shot as he is."

"Well, I haven't seen anyone else as good as him," Izzy shook her head. "Why?"

"No reason," Addy said, waving off the statement. "But, just to let you know, Sonny's going to show some trick shots around noon at the archery range."

Izzy's eyes lit up a bit, which was good because she was sort of looking as if she wanted to die. "Really?"

"Yeah," Addy nodded. "I just thought you'd like to know. I know you wouldn't want to miss it."

* * *

Just at noon, people began to make their way toward the archery range, following Sonny. Addy had spent the whole morning trying to find anyone, without seeming desperate, to find someone with better aim than Sonny. No one had volunteered to try against him.

After most of the people had filed in, Sonny began showing off a few trick shots, shooting several arrows at once, lighting things on fire, shooting moving objects out of the sky, and shooting behind his back and getting very close to the bull's eye. A large portion of the crowd was cheering him on, especially most of the girls.

"Okay, now for the moment you've all been waiting for," Sonny announced loudly. He turned around to the crowd with a large smile. He eyed Addy for a moment, and lifted an eyebrow, noticing that she was holding a bow and five arrows. "Anyone willing to take me on?"

There was a moment of silence. Addy took a deep breath and was about to step forward, but then felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked over to see Sloan. "You can't beat him," Sloan said. "You'll just embarrass yourself."

"Then what do you suggest I do?" Addy asked. "If no one challenges him, he'll win by default."

"And that concerns you because?" Sloan asked, crossing his arms.

Addy screwed up her mouth and avoided Sloan's eyes. "I sort of made a deal that if he won I'd have private archery lessons with him," she mumbled.

Sloan rolled his brown eyes and grunted something about how much of an idiot she was.

"No one?" Sonny asked.

"Of course not, Sonny!" Leiko cheered and giggled. "You're the best there is, after all."

"I'll take the challenge," Sloan said, stepping forward.

* * *

**I'll try to get the next chapter up quicker, but no promises that it will be up quickly. I'm working very seriously on one of my original stories (the first story I intend to publish professionally). Also, I'll try to get something for Two Princes as well, but once again, no promises.**

**Also, regarding a question asked in my latest review from the Demi-God Trap, no, Annie is not Thalia's daughter. Thalia is a Huntress, an eternal maiden, and not a mother. It is possible for other people to have general features of Thalia, like hair and eye color. **


	7. Chapter 6

**Okay, let me have it, I deserve it. It's been... way too long, for this and for Two Princes. That one might take a little longer. But I've been really working hard on my original story (and it's coming along really well). Anyway, we start out with a little Tratie in this chapter, before jumping back to camp. Remember, archery contest. Who'll win? Sonny or Sloan? Already working on the next chapter.**

* * *

Chapter 6

A few birds were chirping, just two rays of sun broke through the trees, and Katie was cuddled against Travis's side, her head on his chest. They had settled nicely into a small B&B in Connecticut on their unofficial honeymoon, though it was the closest they ever got to one. It had been out of the question the first time they married as they had both been broke and this time they had their daughters and conflicting work schedules.

Travis was busying himself with drawing the Greek alphabet on some of the exposed skin on Katie's back that he could reach, while Katie watched his other hand and mindlessly stroked some of the grass they were lying on. Personally, if she could have remained like that for the rest of her life, she would have been pleased.

As it was, they knew that they only had two more months of their 'honeymoon,' and somehow, it didn't upset them at all.

With a sudden gusto, Katie turned her head up toward Travis, and then crawled up onto him, straddling him within a moment and pressing her lips to his. He certainly didn't seem to mind.

And then he heard a low rumbling noise.

Without really thinking, Travis flipped his and Katie's positions, just as a Hellhound pounced out of the darkness of bushes it had been hiding in. It dug its claws into Travis's back and pulled down, shredding his skin before Katie was able to react, using her powers over the plants to capture the creature and pull it away from them. It struggled, but it was tightly caught up in tree branches and limbs from the bushes.

"Oh, gods, Travis," Katie gasped, noticing the grimace on his face from pain. "Don't move." She managed to wiggle her way out from under him and got a look at his back. There were four bleeding grooves down Travis's back. "Oh, gods, Travis." Katie was trying her best not to freak out. Since the incident in Oregon, Katie had incidentally not seen any monsters. "That looks so painful."

"Funny, because it really is," Travis said. His arms trembled as he carefully lowered himself to the ground, stomach first. "There's some ambrosia up in my bag."

"Right," Katie nodded, knowing that it had been packed for just this occasion. She turned to run inside as quickly as she could.

"Uh, Kates..." Travis got her attention just before she took off.

"What is it?" she asked, turning back to him. He pointed upward, where the struggling Hellhound was still stuck. It barked a few times at them. Katie simply reached out her hand and closed it into a fist, the branches closing together as if into a fist, breaking the Hellhound until it was crushed into dust. And then she turned and ran inside to get the Ambrosia for Travis.

A wave of gasps and whispers ran through the crowd as Sloan approached one of the shooting slots.

"What is he doing?" Izzy asked Addy, grabbing her sister's arm. "Why's he challenging Sonny?"

Addy, however, just stared. She turned and scanned the crowd, trying to spot Alex. She finally spotted the blacksmith girl and pushed her way through the crowd to the daughter of Hephaestus, aware that Izzy was following. However, because Izzy wasn't as aggressive, she fell behind.

"Does he have a chance?" Addy asked once she was next to Alex.

Alex looked at Addy for a moment, then looked back at the two boys. "Sonny has a better bow," she said. "It's sturdier and stronger. And his arrows are straighter." She looked at Addy again. "It depends on how Sloan views the bow. If he sees it as an aiming contest, Sonny will win. But children of Ares are natural masters of all weapons, so if he views the bow and arrow as a weapon, he might have a real chance."

"Coming through!" a voice carried over the whispers in the crowd. Addy and Izzy both turned from their respective spots to see Linda coming through. She passed just next to Izzy and took careful precaution to make sure she stepped on the girl's foot. Izzy winced, but then bit her tongue, determined not to make a big fuss about it. She knew that the majority of the crowd would jump to Linda's defense.

"You made it," Sonny said, smiling up at the counselor.

"Sorry I'm late," Linda said. She glanced through the crowd. "Something happened in the city with a few demigods and I was just with Chiron, getting the report." She smiled that beautiful Aphrodite smile she had been graced with. "Now, how many challengers do we have?"

"Apparently just one," Sonny said, gesturing to Sloan.

Linda looked over, and her eyebrows rose in surprise.

"What is _she_ doing here?" Izzy asked Addy once she had finally caught up with her sister.

"Beats me," Addy said. "But it makes me glad I'm not competing."

Linda turned to the crowd. "The rules," she said, loud enough to quiet all the conversations. "Each shooter gets five arrows. The best single shot wins." She turned back to the two shooters. "Ready your first arrow." Both did as she said, Sonny smiling at the crowd while Sloan concentrated on his form. "Fire at will."

Sonny immediately released his arrow, hitting the bulls eye, but the edge of it. Sloan, releasing a few seconds later, was just outside of the bulls eye dot.

"And so far the winner is Sonny!" Linda announced. "Shooters, ready your second arrow!"

"Go Sonny!" someone shouted from the crowd. It was followed by many more shouts for Sonny. Before long, someone had started chanting 'Son-ny! Son-ny!' It didn't take more than a moment for Izzy to join in.

"Fire at will!"

Once again, Sonny released immediately. This arrow was the tiniest bit closer to the exact center. Sloan's arrow, as he released immediately as well, was a ring out. He cursed under his breath in Ancient Greek, but the cheering of the girls for Sonny covered his words.

"Sonny remains in the lead!" Linda announced. The cheering girls got louder.

The next two rounds yielded similar results, until Sonny was just millimeters from a perfect bullseye and Sloan's arrow were just outside the center circle.

"And, time for the final shots," Linda announced. "Ready your arrows."

Everyone held their breath as both Sloan and Sonny brought up their arrows, aiming at the bulls' eyes. "Fire at will."

However, rather than either of them releasing, five silver arrows hit the target in between the two that were being used, each a perfect bulls eye, and each arrow splitting the one before it.

Sonny's arrow just dropped from his hand, and Sloan, barely paying attention to his arrow, released it, hitting the mark just closer than any of Sonny's arrows had hit.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," Linda grumbled and turned to where the silver arrows had come from.

Standing in a tree was a young girl, probably about age eleven. However she wore a pair of camouflage pants and a black tee shirt with a silver vest. She had pale skin and long black hair with green eyes. In her hand she held a silver bow and had a few knives tucked into her belt.

At the base of the tree stood about a dozen other girls, all dressed in similar garb and most with bows or knives as well. They all seemed to range from about nine to twelve.

"So, I'm pretty sure that I just won," the girl in the tree said before leaping down, landing gracefully on her feet. She smiled. "What's my prize?"

"Prize for what?" Sonny asked, a frown on his face as he turned to face the girls.

"Clearly for winning what was an archery contest," the girl said. "I know there was a prize. The looks on your faces made it obvious."

"You were not a participant," Linda said, arms crossed.

"Who are they?" Izzy asked Alex quietly.

"Must be Hunters of Artemis," Alex said. "I wouldn't know for certain, as I've never met them, but... who else could they be?"

"I still beat both of them," the girl said, approaching Linda. "And from farther away."

"I don't care," Linda said. She stopped and looked at Sloan and Sonny. "There wasn't a prize, was there?"

"Nope," both boys said and shook their heads.

"Well, who's the winner?" one person in the crowd asked.

"Or, rather, who is the runner-up?" the Hunter asked.

Linda looked at the two targets. Sonny's only had four arrows, as his fifth was just two feet out. And then at Sloan's target, which had one arrow just a bit closer to the exact center dot than Sonny's arrows. "The winner is Sloan, son of Ares."

Addy, Izzy, and Alex, who had all forgotten about the contest for a moment, widened their eyes and turned to see that Sloan did have an arrow closer to the center than any of Sonny's. Addy and Alex smiled at one another while Izzy's jaw just dropped.

"Great job, Sloan!" Alex said, throwing an arm over his shoulders as the two girls caught up to him with the crowd leaving the archery range. Izzy was pushing through the crowd to get to Sonny and the Hunters were all gathering around Linda, questioning as to why their own hadn't been declared the winner.

"Yeah, whatever," Sloan said, shoving the bow into Addy's hands. "Next time, don't challenge an Apollo kid into an archery contest."

"It wasn't like that," Addy said. She flipped some of her still long hair off her shoulder, causing it to fan out and shine in the sun. Addy didn't notice as Sloan stared for a few moments in fascination. He had blinked it out of his eyes and turned away by the time Addy looked at him. "Izzy was trying to flirt with him, and because of this stupid curse that forces me to be Malibu Barbie... well... he was more interested in me. I thought I'd annoy him, but he said if he won the archery contest I'd need to take private lessons with him."

"You could have said no," Alex said with a small shrug. She cocked her head at Addy. "You know, I never did get the story about why the Aphrodite girls blessed you..."

Addy blushed and turned a bit away from Alex. She couldn't tell Alex that she had been asking the girls to help her look more feminine. "I... uh.. was kind of seeing if they had heard anything about Orion... for you."

"Orion?" Sloan asked. "Zeus's kid?" He lightly elbowed Alex. "Got a thing for him, huh?"

"A bit," Alex said blushing. "But it's not a real serious crush..."

"I just thought that they'd want to help," Addy said. "But, apparently they took Linda's side."

"Miss Linda's side against me?" Alex questioned. "What have I done to her?"

"Nothing," Addy said. "It's against me. Sorry, but being friends with me apparently makes you an enemy of the DOAs. If you want to stop talking to me now, I'd understand. I'd only be my friends to annoy those girls, personally."

Alex shook her head. "Naw, I think I'll keep you," she said smiling at Addy. "Never had a female friend before, nor someone that tried to do something for me without getting something in return."

"What am I?" Sloan asked.

"We have a mutual exchange," Alex said. "You get weapons, I get training."

"Anyway, this isn't a blessing," Addy ensured the two. "It's a curse."

"Oh, boys fawning all over you and perfect beauty," Alex mocked. "It must be tragic."

"You try to learn to fight in heels," Addy said. "I'm just glad Char managed to get Izzy drunk enough last night to forget certain events." She glanced behind them to where Izzy was, getting shoved around in the crowd by Sonny. "She'd be so sad if she remembered how Sonny ignored her yesterday."

"Okay, that does sound like a curse," Alex said.

"Anyway, you're just lucky that Sonny was trying to draw the tension out and managed to drop that last arrow," Sloan said, turning around and walking backwards so he could face the girls as they walked. "He could have hit the bullseye every shot… though I doubt he'd be able to split his arrows."

The three were almost at the food pavilion for lunch when suddenly there was a girl in front of them, hands fisted on her hips and a frown on her face. It was the girl that had fired five perfect shots from the tree. Sloan barely avoided walking into her.

"Why did you win?" the girl demanded to know.

Sloan stood still for a moment, debating how to explain why she hadn't been declared the winner. Alex stepped up. "It really was a stupid my horse is bigger than your horse competition."

The girl looked confused. She probably was only about ten when up close. "What does an archery contest have to do with horses?"

"You want to be winner, fine by me," Sloan said lifting his hands in defeat. "So long as it's not the other guy."

The girl's eyes lit up. "So, you'll give me the prize? What's the prize?"

"Archery lessons with Addy," Sloan said, motioning to the daughter of two demigods.

"Wha…" The girl was confused. "But I don't need lessons, clearly."

"No, you misunderstand," Sloan said. "You get to be the teacher, she is the student."

Her shoulders dropped. "That's such bull."

Eventually, Sonny managed to push through his throng of admirers. Char, Leiko, and another girl that Izzy didn't know, dome daughter of a minor god she thought, waited for him at the entrance of the archery range. Izzy tried to keep up, but kept getting pushed around too much to use her speed.

She watched as he grabbed Leiko's hand, and how the other two girls followed Sonny and Leiko until Sonny and Leiko split off toward the cabins rather than the food pavilion.

Izzy was about to follow when all of a sudden, Char and the other girl, also a beauty, were stopping her.

"Sonny needs some time to himself," Char said placing a hand on Izzy's shoulder.

"But, Leiko's with him," Izzy said.

"Okay, Sonny needs some time to let off frustration, and that's what Leiko's for," the girl said, brushing some long blonde hair off her shoulder. "Eri, by the way, daughter of Eros."

"I just wanted to make sure he was alright," Izzy said.

"He will be," Char said. "But he doesn't want you bursting in on him right now. Just give him time."

Izzy sighed, which apparently caused Eri to groan. "Okay, you know what, we'll help you."

"You don't sound like you want to," Izzy said, a little confused.

Char, however, looked thrilled at the process. "Yes, a make-over. Granted, it be so much easier to go your sister's route and get an Aphrodite blessing…"

"She hates how she looks right now," Izzy said.

"Ah, but a few touch-ups and you hang with us, you'll get on Sonny's radar," Char promised. "Come on, we'll start right now."

"Right now?" Izzy asked, her eyes going wide.

"It shouldn't be too hard," Eri said. "I mean, in a year or two, you'd probably be easy to turn into one of us. You're just a little small in the chest area, and you have a young face." Eri tilted her head, causing her blonde hair all to fall down her shoulder. "But, I think we can make it work."

"But only if you cooperate," Char said, staring Izzy in the eyes. "Can you commit to this?"

Izzy thought for a moment, and then glanced in the direction Sonny had disappeared with Leiko. And then she nodded. "I'm with you."

"Good," Char said with a smile. "I had a feeling about you, and I was right."


End file.
